Sword Practice
by zhangly
Summary: A one-shot in which Piper McLean watches an old video of Percy and Annabeth's famous Camp Half-blood kiss. Post-TLH. Percy/Annabeth, Slight Piper/Jason. Written for The Prompts: Third Prompt - First Line Dilemma.


**Okay, in case you all didn't know, today is August 18 (at least, in my time zone, it is). In other words, it's PERCY'S BIRTHDAY!**

**So this one-shot is actually a tribute to Percy on his birthday as a' thank you' for his awesomeness. So, happy birthday, Percy! We all love you!**

**On to the story!**

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><p><strong>Sword Practice<strong>

Piper McLean walked into the arena and immediately fell flat on her face.

She groaned, got up, and looked at the culprit: a pair of feet.

"Hey," Jason, her best friend, greeted her.

She glared at him, but she (somehow) found that she couldn't stay angry at him for long.

"Hey, yourself," she responded.

Jason grinned at her-making her heart skip a beat- but the grin quickly became a moan.

Piper held out her hand and helped him up. "Annabeth?"

Jason nodded, rubbing his neck as he did so as if it hurt to use it. "She's amazing. We were sparring about half an hour ago, and-"

"You were lying on the ground for thirty whole minutes?"

"It hurt, okay?" Jason said defensively. "But anyway, at one point I thought I had her cornered..."

Piper laughed. "No chance."

"Biggest mistake of my life," Jason agreed. "The next moment, she just twisted, caught my strike with the hilt of her blade, pinned me to the wall, and disarmed me. And, as if I hadn't been humiliated enough, she tripped me when I was retrieving my weapon."

Piper smirked. "I know how that feels. But," she added quickly, avoiding Jason's dark look, "that technique _is _hard. Annabeth's trying to teach me, but I just can seem to get it right."

"Oh, well," Jason sighed. "Sometimes there's nothing we can do."

"Actually," Piper put in, "apparently there's a video of Percy and Annabeth sparring. The technique's supposed to be displayed perfectly there. And Annabeth did tell me it would help."

Jason sighed. "You always get the easy way out. All I can do is keep practicing."

Piper smiled sweetly. "Maybe I can charmspeak Annabeth into letting you win, or something."

"That'd be awesome," Jason smiled. "And, by the way, is this video of yours in the Big House?"

"Yup," Piper nodded.

Jason held out his hand. "I have an appointment with Chiron there anyway, why don't we go together?"

Piper took his hand and they walked-or rather, strutted- up the path to the Big House.

On the way, they passed a huge clearing the size of a baseball stadium where, Piper knew, the campers were working on the flying ship (that sounds weird: ships aren't _usually_ meant to fly), _the Argo II._

"Heyyy, lovebirds!"

Jason and Piper released their hands at once, and Leo poked his head over the wooden-or was it metal- railing of the _Argo II. _

Leo's dark eyes were sparkling with amusement and his hair stood up in spikes. He looked like an oily version of a combination of a human and a porcupine.

"Who're you calling lovebirds?" Jason asked, looking around as if someone else might be there.

Leo grinned. "You two, of course. You are on _fire_!"

And as if to prove his point, he summoned a few flames and sent them in their direction.

Piper and Jason yelped and dodged. The flames latched on to a nearby tree, which immediately began to smoke.

"_Damn_," Leo gasped. "Annabeth!"

"On it!"Came a yell, and the next moment Annabeth came sprinting up the side of the massive side of the ship. She was carrying a large bucket, which she swung wildly at the tree.

Her aim was spot on. Water spattered the tree trunk, and the flames died. Steam rose in place of the smoke.

Leo and Annabeth high-fived.

Piper smiled up at them while Jason examined the tree. "So, I take it that the _Argo II _is coming along fine?" she asked.

"It's great!" Annabeth exclaimed, while Leo nodded fervently beside her. "We're way ahead of schedule, and our campers are working really hard."

"Which campers?" Jason asked.

"We're using the Athena, Hephaestus, Ares and Demeter cabins," Leo explained. "And," Annabeth added, "It's great to see you back on your feet after the way I whipped you in the arena, Jason."

Jason grinned. "Wait till the next time."

"Bring it-"

"Annabeth!" Piper interrupted, "I'm going to go and watch that video you told me about now. What's it called?"

"Um," Annabeth said, "it's in the last room on the right in the Big House. It should be in a crate called 'Sparring'. The CD itself is labelled 'Dagger-Hilt-Catch' or something like that."

"Okay," Piper said, "so is there a TV in there, or what?"

"No," Annabeth said, "there's only a projector. Just insert the CD in the slot and press the play button. Unless my memory has failed me, which it rarely does, there should be a remote."

"Great," Jason said. "So is there anything we can do to help here?"

Leo shrugged indifferently. "If you have some magical power over water, then yes," he said. The naiads have prevented up from building pipelines and it's pretty tiring, going all the way to the lake and back again."

As Piper watched, a flash of pain streaked across Annabeth's face, but a second later it was gone.

Piper had a feeling she knew what that was about. Percy Jackson, Annabeth's lost boyfriend, could probably control the water easily, and could have really helped. She wondered how long it had been since Annabeth had gone to the beach, but before she could even pluck up the courage to ask, Leo and Annabeth waved to them and walked down to a lower deck.

"Come on," Jason said.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Piper broke it.

"Poor Annabeth," she said.

Jason frowned. "Yeah. Why?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "You are so hopeless, Jason all the stories about Percy and Annabeth?"

"Whatever," Jason shrugged. "I don't usually spend my time on this stuff. Besides, your cabin is, like, the Headquarters of all the camp gossip. You must know everything."

Piper told him all she'd heard about Percy and Annabeth's rollercoaster-like relationship, starting with their first quest to retrieve Zeus' master bolt and ending with their famous kiss at camp.

Jason exhaled. "Some story. I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's actually king of cute."

Piper nodded. "I know, right? I just love that they got closer and closer every tear, and then they finally got together! Plus, I'd _die_ to see their kiss at camp. Lacy told me that it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen."

Jason waged his finger at her maddeningly. "Careful, Piper, you sound like an actual daughter of Aphrodite."

Piper laughed and pushed him playfully. Unfortunately, she pushed him a little too hard, sending him straight into the door of the Big House.

"Ow!"

Piper patted him on the shoulder. "On the bright side, Jason," she smirked, "at least we won't have to knock."

"You won't, Piper," said Chiron, smiling up at them in the doorway. When'd he open the door?

He gave Jason a meaningful look as they stepped in. "You wished to see me?" he asked, and when Jason nodded, he gestured for him to go into his office.

He turned to Piper, smiling. "I understand you want to watch a video, Piper. You may proceed, although Annabeth may come by in half an hour's time to show some new demigods the orientation film."

"Okay," Piper nodded.

Chiron went into his office and Piper want down the hallway, counting one, two, three, four, five, six doors on the right. She went into the last one and found inside a shelf stacked with boxes, a comfortable-looking couch, a small projector and a microwave with a bowl of hot, steaming popcorn inside it. Someone must have known she was coming, and Piper thanked them silently in her mind.

Piper went over to the shelf and found that there were about ten crates there. One said 'Orientation films', one said 'Capture the Flag', and yet another said 'Chariot races'.

Piper found the crate labelled 'Sparring' next to 'Cabins and Claiming'. She picked it up and almost dropped on her foot. She managed to carry it to the sofa and she gladly let it drop.

"Damn it," she whispered, for the crate seemed to hold at least seventy CDs. She'd never find the right one in time.

But she knew she had to try. And she really wanted to be as good a knife-fighter as Annabeth.

"Dodging," she murmured as she went through the first row. "Rolling...stabbing...disarming..."

Then she saw an unlabelled CD in the third row. Obviously someone had removed it. She lifted it out of sheer curiosity and saw that, in minute handwriting in a corner, the words 'Dagger-Hilt-Catching' were written in Greek.

"Jackpot!" Piper cheered.

She put the box down (missing her foot narrowly once again), inserted the CD in the given slot, got the bowl of popcorn, and settled on the couch, which was as comfortable as it looked.

She found a small remote next to the armrest and pressed PLAY.

The scene which appeared was not the one which Piper had expected.

It was in the pavilion, and it was dusk. The pavilion was pretty much empty, but one person sat at the nearest table, looking at the sunset.

Piper was confused. Was this the right video? It was labelled right...but maybe she'd read it wrong.

The person with the camera focused on that person. It was hard to see through all the leaves, so Piper figured that the cameraman was in the bushes, but she squinted hard at the figure on the bench. He had black hair, Piper noticed, but that was all she could see, as his back was to the cameraman.

"Thank the gods. He's still there," came a low whisper, which Piper recognised. The cameraman focused on the speaker-Clarisse. She was sitting behind the bushes, and was not very well hidden behind it, but the guy on the bench seemed to notice nothing.

Then Katie Gardner's face came into view. She was grinning fit to bust, and appeared to be holding the camera herself. "Hi!" she whispered. "I know you-I mean whoever is watching this right now- is expecting a video of Percy and Annabeth sparring, but, believe me, this is wayyyy better! Stay tuned! And, remember, _do not_ tell Percy or Annabeth about this!"

Piper, excited, shoved some popcorn into her mouth (very ladylike) and gazed at the screen intently, careful not to miss a word.

Katie's face vanished she and directed the camera lens behind Clarisse, where Piper saw nearly half of the camp crouching there, looking restless yet excited.

"Malcolm!" Clarisse whispered. "You got it?"

"I sure did!" came a boy's voice, and Malcolm, son of Athena, came into view. He was holding a cap with the letters NY on the front.

Annabeth's New York Yankees cap, which could make the wearer invisible...but why...?

"Took it off of her bedside table," Malcolm continued. "Put it on, Katie!"

He handed the cap to Katie, and the screen went blurry for a while. Then it was back to normal, but Piper could see wicked grins on everyone's faces, which made Piper wonder what on Earth they were planning.

"Perfect," Travis Stoll whispered. He glanced behind him, and then whispered something to Malcolm.

Malcolm looked in that direction, too. "She's coming!" he said in an urgent voice. "Go, Katie, now!"

Katie moved silently out of the bushes, and Piper saw who was approaching the pavilion: Annabeth.

Katie stopped directly in front of the guy. He was still looking at the horizon, and Piper saw that he had the most amazing eyes. They were sea-green, like the ocean on a calm summer day. He was also incredibly good-looking, just about as cute-or possibly even cuter-than Jason. Then, with a start of realization, Piper realised that this was Percy Jackson himself. That explained why the colour of his eyes, his amazing face (Maybe it was a Big Three thing), and, moreover, why Annabeth was walking towards him. But she still didn't understand why this particular scene was being filmed.

Annabeth came closer and closer, and then slid onto the bench next to Percy. She was carrying a glop of mud on a paper plate with some blue stuff on it. "Hey," she said. "Happy birthday."

The camera zoomed in, and Piper saw that the apparent 'glop of mud' was actually a cupcake with blue icing.

Something sparked in the back of Piper's mind. _Blue cake,_ she thought. _Where have I heard that before?_

Then she remembered. _His favourite colour is blue_, Lacy had told her. _So she brought him a blue cake that day._

That day...that day...

Piper felt her confusion turn into shock.

Oh. My. Gods. Could this...could this possibly be...?

She looked at the screen incredulously.

Percy was staring at Annabeth in confusion. "What?"

"It's August eighteenth," Annabeth said. "Your birthday, right?"

Percy stared at her, and then fixed his gaze on the candle like it was from outer space.

"Make a wish," Annabeth offered, looking amused. Percy glanced and her again.

"Did you bake this yourself?" he asked, smiling softly.

"Tyson helped," Annabeth admitted.

"That explains why it looks like a chocolate brick," Percy smiled. "With extra-blue cement."

Piper and Annabeth laughed in sync.

Percy thought for a second, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. He looked so cute; Piper could have hugged him to death. Then he blew out the candle.

Piper watched in joy as Percy and Annabeth cute the cake in half and began to eat it with their fingers. They looked so comfortable in each other's company, totally at peace.

"You saved the world," Annabeth said suddenly.

"We saved the world," Percy corrected.

"And," Annabeth said, evidently trying to contain her joy, "Rachel is the new Oracle, which means she won't be dating anybody."

Of course, Piper mused. She'd heard that something had been going on between Percy and Rachel Dare, and Annabeth had hated Rachel to death. However, after Rachel became the Oracle and thus a maiden, Annabeth had warmed up to Rachel considerably.

"You don't sound jealous," Percy noted, smirking slightly.

"Oh, I don't care," Annabeth said, shrugging, but she sounded as if that was all she cared about.

"Uh-huh."

Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

Piper wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. She'd heard about their stupid nicknames for each other, but hearing Annabeth actually say it was a dream come true.

"When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable..." Percy began hesitantly, brushing the excess cake off his hands, "Nico said I had to concentrate on the one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth didn't look at him, but Piper saw a large smile beginning to form on her face. "Yeah?"

"Then up on Olympus," Percy continued, "when they wanted to turn me into a god and stuff, I kept thinking-"

Piper grabbed some more popcorn, her eyes glued to the screen. Was Percy actually suggesting that he had refused godhood for...for _Annabeth?_

"Oh, you _so_ wanted to." Annabeth cut in.

Percy glanced at her for a mere moment before looking away again. "Well," he said, "maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought – I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking..." he faltered.

Piper was ecstatic. The moment, she knew, was just round the corner.

"Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked softly, finally allowing herself to smile.

Percy looked over at that moment. "You're laughing at me," he said indignantly.

"I am not!" Annabeth said huffily, hiding another smile.

Percy grinned as well, making Piper's heart skip a beat in spite of herself. She could only imagine what Annabeth must have been feeling. "You are_ so_ not making this easy," Percy said.

Annabeth laughed, and placed her hands around his neck, making Piper squeal loudly.

"I am never, _ever_ going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain," she said. "Get used to it."

Piper squealed again as they leaned closer, closer, and then, finally, they closed the gap between their lips.

Piper wanted to jump up and down, but all she could do was squeal and shriek: "Yes! Yes!"

Katie Gardner too, was evidently happy, and the scene was bobbing up and down like she was jumping or something.

Then a voice growled: "Well, it's about time!"

And the campers charged in, flooding the pavilion with torchlight. They lifted Percy and Annabeth, who were both looking slightly dazed, onto their shoulders.

Piper could see their faces slowly reddening. "Oh, come on!" Percy whined. "Is there no privacy?"

_No,_ Piper thought. _It's_ Camp Half-blood._ Privacy is not a word in their dictionary._

"The lovebirds need to cool off!" Clarisse laughed.

"The canoe lake!" shouted Travis-no, Connor- Stoll.

Everybody cheered, and they ran off in the direction of the lake, Katie running invisibly alongside Percy and Annabeth. Their faces were tomato-red, but they were laughing readily, which Piper couldn't help admiring. If she and Jason (just an example, people) were in their place, she would probably have blushed until she exploded.

They reached the canoe lake, and with a loud yell, Percy and Annabeth were dunked by their friends into the cold water, their entwined hands coming loose in that moment.

They didn't come to surface.

"Damn it," Clarisse said. "He's the son of Poseidon. He's probably manipulated the water so that they can both breathe. They're probably having a good laugh down there."

"Nah," Travis grinned, peering into the water, "he's made an air bubble underwater. They're probably having a nice, private kiss with no interruptions right now."

"Anyway, we've done what we meant to do," Katie said unexpectedly, making Travis nearly jump into the lake himself, before rolling his eyes knowingly, "this will be a camp legend in a few thousand years, just like the Bronze Dragon."

At that moment, the ground rumbled, and a huge bubble rose out of the water slowly but gracefully, shimmering different colours in the sunset. It popped in midair and Percy and Annabeth landed on their feet with remarkable poise. It was like they had practiced for that little routine all their lives.

The campers were all silent for a moment. Then they cheered so loud, they must've been heard in the North Pole. They all circled Percy and Annabeth and began to snap photos with their cameras. Some people, including Mitchell and Lacy, Piper saw, gave them high-fives or hugs.

Annabeth looked like her cheeks had been dunked in red paint. Piper couldn't believe that Annabeth, who had a reputation for beating up the Ares Cabin, could look so meek, like a deer caught in headlights. She felt incredibly happy for her.

Percy, on the other hand, was bowing shamelessly to great applause. He wrapped a muscular arm around Annabeth's slim frame and whispered something inaudible in her ear, making Annabeth blush even more, if possible. She nodded slightly, and they both grinned and hugged. Piper knew, in that moment, that he had asked her out, and she had accepted.

The campers were still cheering, and now the satyrs and dryads had joined them. The naiads stuck their heads out of the water and began yelling too.

Annabeth looked up at Percy (Wow, he was tall) and said something. But before he could reply, they were both lifted on the campers' shoulders again and carried off towards the cabins.

Piper smiled as Percy and Annabeth linked arms once more. That was a girl's dream, wasn't it? To find a guy like that, a guy who would stick with her through thick and thin. She hoped she could be as lucky as Annabeth someday.

But, moreover, Piper finally understood how Annabeth must have been feeling about Percy's disappearance. She must be devastated, Piper thought. She needed a shoulder to lean on. Piper intended to have a nice, long chat with her later.

She lifted the remote to press the REPLAY button, but before she could, the door opened and Annabeth walked in, leading two young demigods into the room.

"... Your Orientation films!" she was saying, but her smile melted when she saw Piper, who figured she must look terrible.

She looked up at the screen, where the campers, with Percy and Annabeth still on their shoulders, were now running towards the beach.

Annabeth's eyes widened; obviously she recognised the scene. Her expression went from shock to disbelief and back again. Piper knew she was in big trouble and switched it off immediately.

"Piper...?" Annabeth asked, her grey eyes still wide open in surprise, "Piper, _what on Earth_ was that?"

Piper knew that she had been caught red-handed. She knew that she had to choice but to tell Annabeth the truth. The terrible, terrible truth...

"What was that you were watching?" Annabeth repeated. "Tell me."

Piper smoothed down her wild hair and brushed the popcorn off her T-shirt and jeans. She took a deep breath and summoned all her strength. No use turning back now.

"Sword practice," she said dumbly.

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><p><strong>That was THE longest thing I've ever written...<strong>

**I hope the ending wasn't too abrupt, by the way. I wanted it to end like that. If it's bad, I'm SO sorry!**

**My SECOND one-shot! Was it good? Was it bad? Or...dare I say it...was it UGLY?**

**Tell me! I MUST find out! ...b****ut how can you tell me?**

**Oh, yeah...! You can REVIEW! You can tell me anything: how I can improve, more ideas, etc etc. I'll read them and try to do as you guys ask.**

**SO REVIEW NOW! **

**...please? =)**

**With a cherry on top,**

**meeeethegr8**

**(Okay, there really isn't a cherry on my head.)**


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